E-PG Pathshala Project of UGC:

The MHRD, under its National Mission on Education through ICT (NME-ICT), has assigned work to the UGC for development of e-content in 71 subjects at postgraduate level. The content and its quality is the key component of education system. High quality, curriculum-based, interactive content in different subjects across all disciplines of social sciences, arts, fine arts & humanities, natural & mathematical sciences, linguistics and languages is being developed under this initiative named e-PG Pathshala.

E-PG Pathshala project aims to prepare and upload an open access study material for post graduate students in different subjects. For the preparation of study material in the field of Law, the UGC has assigned the responsibility to National Law University, Delhi. There are sixteen papers in the subject of Law. Each paper is divided into approximately 25-30 modules. Therefore, NLU, Delhi is preparing course material for approximately 400 modules in law. The Course content for every module is divided into four quadrants viz: the E-text, Self Learning (Video/Audio recording of the lecture), Self Assessment and Learn More. The development team of e-pathshala at NLUD includes:

Indo-Norwegian Cooperation Programme within Law (INCP – 2015 to 2018)

The Indo-Norwegian collaboration programme, sponsored by UGC and SIU(Norway), is a joint project of NLUD and Faculty of Law, University of Bergen, Norway for the initial period of 2015 to 2017. The project has been given one-year extension till 2018. The objective of the programme was to initiate and build relationships between NLUD and UiB. The introductory meeting in 2015 at NLUD led to the foundation of strong relationship between the two universities. The project is coordinated by Prof. (Dr.) Harpreet Kaur. The following activities/events have been organised under the project:

1. Student mobility programme was initiated for PG students for two years under which five students of NLUD and 2 students of UiB have studied at UiB and NLUD respectively for one semester.
2. Joint workshop for Researchers was conducted at UiB in 2015 in which faculty members from both the universities participated.
3. Joint Ph. D workshop for Ph. D scholars of both universities was conducted at NLUD in 2016 and 2017.
4. Two Ph. D scholars of NLUD have visited UiB for a month for comparative research work in August/September, 2017.
5. Two NLUD faculty members visited UiB as visiting professors in 2016.
6. One Professor from UiB is scheduled to visit NLUD in February, 2018 to offer a certificate course on ‘European Civil and Political Human Rights’ for NLUD students.

The Death Penalty Research Project

The Death Penalty Research Project is being carried out by National Law University, Delhi in collaboration with the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), and was approved by Honourable Justice Sathasivam in his capacity as the Executive Chairman of NALSA. The Project seeks to create a socioeconomic profile of death row prisoners across India as well as map their interaction with the criminal justice system at different levels. The project, spearheaded by Dr. Anup Surendranath (Director) and Ms. Neha Singhal (Deputy Director), comprises over fifty researchers and seeks to achieve a deeper understanding of how the socioeconomic background of these prisoners influences their access to the criminal justice system, and how the system itself impoverishes those who seek access to it.

Given the tremendous social and economic disparity in our country, the criminal justice system, with its deeply entrenched systemic flaws such as investigative arbitrariness, multiple ‘getaways’, inordinate delay during trial, and the all pervasive, capricious element of chance, impoverishes the already impoverished. It is a matter of serious interrogation as to whether our criminal justice system can be relied upon to mete out a sentence of such a grave nature, not only in terms of the enormous impact it has on the psyche of the condemned prisoner, but in terms of the financial and social implications of the sentence on the families of the prisoner.

Project on Status of Crime Against Women & Gender Justice in Northern Regions of India

Entrusted as major project by the Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi, this empirical study to be conducted on a sample of some one thousand five hundred respondents to assess the status of crime against women (CAW) in the northern regions of the country. The idea is to ascertain the prevalence of reported and unreported incidence of CAW in the selected regions. Further, the study also proposes to develop the profiles of victims and offenders based on their personal and behavioral traits. The factors responsible for this for this menace would be ascertained in this study in the context of societal, familial, cultural and legal perspectives. The peculiar combinations prone to cause criminality against women would be indentified in a manner so that the existing theoretical understanding on the subject could be invigorated. Besides, the lacunae in the existing laws, procedure, enforcement and functioning of the agencies primarily responsible to the control and prevention of CAW would be critically examined in the frame of ‘impact assessment’ so that effective recommendations and workable solutions applicable in the specific context of the problem could be offered. Prof. (Dr.) G. S. Bajpai is the Project Director for this study.

Project on Impact & Implementation of Juvenile Justice Act, 2000

Assigned as a major project by the University Grants Commission, this research is an impact study. It intends to make an assessment of the impact of the Juvenile Justice Act (Care & Protection), 2000 in chosen states. The investigation would attempt to study the issues and problems in the enforcement of this Act. The appraisal would be made on the basis of selected performance indicators so that an index of enforcement and performance could be evolved. This would give an idea about the relative enforcement of the Act in selected states. Prof. G. S. Bajpai is the Principal Investigator for this study.

Project on Privatisation and Right To Water for Urban Poor in Delhi

The right to water has been recognized in a wide range of international documents including treaties, declarations and other standards. Various judgments of the High Courts and the Supreme Court have equated the right to water as part of the ‘right to life’, which is a fundamental right. The Draft National Water Policy Bill, 2013 unequivocally asserts that each individual has a right to 25 litres of potable water per day with or without privatization and corporatization of water services. Among other social goods, water and sanitation are an absolute must for a dignified human existence.

In this background the research project on Privatization and Right to Water for the Urban Poor in Delhi seeks to present a comprehensive perspective on the subject by integrating the normative knowledge on the subject with that of the data generated from socio-legal research from the field. Respondents include people inhabiting slums, human rights NGOs dealing with slum issues, Delhi government officials and possibly some elected representatives.

The project is carried out in collaboration and partnership between National Law University, Delhi and Law and Development Research group of the Faculty of Law, University of Antwerp, Belgium. The main contact person for the project from Belgium is Prof (Dr.) Koen De Feyter, Professor of International Law at University of Antwerp as well as Ms. Dominique Kikens and Dr. Desmet Ellen. From National Law University Delhi, the principal investigator and project director is Dr. Maheswar Singh, Associate Professor of Political Science. The research is financially supported by the Belgian Science Policy Office and remains a significant component in their overall funding of The Global Challenge of Human Rights Integration: Towards a Users Perspective. The details of the programme can be reached at www.hrintegration.be

Effective Implementation of the RTI Act

The University has undertaken this project to analyse RTI Applications submitted in three ministries namely, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the Ministry of Urban Development and the Department of Personal and Training and the Ministry of Personal, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India. The study will document the successes and constraints in implementation, identify areas that require more attention, address the gap areas and improve efficiency and effectiveness of the Right to Information. This study was initiated in January 2012 and will be continued with more Ministries and Departments joining the study in June/July, 2012.

Pre- Legislative Scrutiny

This project will study and analyse the pre-legislative process in three states in India i.e. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi, as well as the Indian Parliament. The findings of the study will be placed before the working group of the National Advisory Council on Transparency, Accountability and Governance for enhancing broad based consultations in the formulation of laws in India.

Tihar Prison Advocacy Project

The Legal Aid Committee of the University has initiated a project on Prison Advocacy in Tihar Jail. Under this Project, the students will identify prisoners eligible to apply for a personal bond under Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and offer their legal services for their release. As part of the Project, the students will collect the details of under trial prisoners from Tihar Jail, present cases before the appropriate Court, and obtain release orders from the prison.

Section 436A of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 allows an under trial prisoner to be released on a personal bond if he has already served half of the maximum imprisonment period for the offence charged.

Thomson Reuters: Global Practical Skills Pilot

National Law University, Delhi and Thomson Reuters, USA are developing an Indian Pilot Programme in Legal English as part of Global Practical Skills Training. English is the language of communication in the world of international trade. The course intends to provide students with precise legal vocabulary and the very specific rules of grammar required to prepare legal documents and in spoken interactions. Students are exposed to the style of writing preferred by modern international law firms. This pilot programme on legal english will be offered to third year students in the forthcoming semester.

The course will include: Introduction to Practical Legal English; Understanding Contracts, Language of Business Law, Company / Corporate Law, Law of Torts and Criminal Law; Modern Letter Writing and Electronic Communication. It will be followed by another course on effective legal negotiation.

E-Justice: Building Courts of Tomorrow for the State of Madhya Pradesh

The Office of the Advisor to the Prime Minister of India requested NLU Delhi to conduct a pilot study on the working of the criminal justice system in the State of Madhya Pradesh, to understand how and where technological enhancements could be used to make the system more efficient and effective. This involved studying the working of the police, prisons, and courts. The life cycle of a criminal case, documents generated, and the process involved were extensively studied in six districts of Madhya Pradesh. Police officers, prison officials, court staff, and judges were interviewed. It is observed that the usage of technology will certainly assist in making the criminal justice system more effective and efficient. There is an urgent need for digitizing certain documents and parts of the process, to reduce an inordinate amount time currently spent by staff in preparing multiple copies of a document in original (such as a FIR). However, there is also a need for effective safeguards to ensure that the rights of the accused are not compromised. NLUD research team comprising (in alphabetical order) Ms. Akila R.S., Visiting Faculty, NLU Delhi; Dr. Aparna Chandra, Assistant Professor of Law and Research Director, Centre for Constitutional Law, Policy and Governance;Dr. Mrinal Satish, Associate Professor of Law and Executive Director, Centre for Constitutional Law, Policy and Governance; and Dr. Sitharamam Kakarala, Visiting Professor, NLU Delhi; Mr. Manish, Full-time Researcher worked on the research project.

Sub Committee of Law Commission of India

The Supreme Court of India on 1st February 2012 in Imtiyaz Ahmad Case asked the Law Commission of India for suggestions on how best to eliminate delays in the Indian Court System while maintaining the quality of decisions. NLU Delhi has been assisting the Law Commission of India in this regard and submitted an Interim Record suggesting the rate of disposal method as one way of approaching the issue of adequate judicial strength for reduction of delays in the Judicial system, based on pilot study of Delhi High Court and District Courts

British Council Project on Knowledge Economy Partnership-Internationalizing Higher Education

NLU Delhi has been given a research project under this British Council Project of Internationalization of Higher Education. This project is to develop the Medial Law and Governance Curriculum. NLU Delhi and PCMLP, Oxford University will be jointly creating the pod-casts for public access as basic content for curriculum.

UGC-UKERI Project

NLU Delhi in partnership with School of Oriental and African Studies, London (SOAS) has been granted a UGC-UKIERI project titled,” Climate Change and Groundwater Management: An Indian Law and Society Comparative Study.” The project aims to analyze the extent to which existing groundwater law in India has contributed to addressing climate change and the extent to which more effective implementation could contribute further to the same. It aims to evaluate the water law instruments that effectively address climate change, especially through a comparative analysis of efforts in other parts of world.

Impact Analysis of the Legal Aid Services Provided by the empanelled Legal Practitioners on the Legal Aid System in the City of Delhi

This project has received grant from UGC under UGC Research Award Project 2014. This is an empirical research which evaluates legal aid services provided by the empanelled legal practitioners. The study has following objectives

1. To study the existing law relating to the legal aid system
2. To examine the functioning of the legal aid services provided by the empanelled legal practitioners.
3. To evaluate the effectiveness of the services provided by the empanelled legal practitioners.
4. To enhance the quality of services of empanelled legal practitioners provided under the scheme

Study of preservation and promotion of Indigenous and Endangered Languages

UGC funded a major research project titled ‘Indigenous and Endangered Languages’ to pay a greater attention to the marginal languages, non-scheduled languages, languages of tribal and nomadic communities and the languages that deserve a measure of social sympathy and academic attention. The project has following objectives:

1. To census the marginal languages, non-scheduled languages, languages of tribal and nomadic communities in the vicinity of the National Law University, Delhi. That is in Delhi, NCR and if need be in the adjoining states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
2. To undertake inter departmental and inter disciplinary research related to indigenous and endangered languages;
3. To undertake fieldwork, research, analysis, archiving and documentation of smaller indigenous/endangered languages;
4. To produce and publish monographs, grammars, grammatical sketches, dictionaries and lexicon, ethno-linguistic and theoretical descriptions, collection of oral and folk literature and scholarly books on endangered languages;
5. To produce language and dialect atlases with special reference to minority and endangered languages;
6. To organise workshops and seminars aimed towards promoting advanced research related to endangered languages;
7. To train teachers and students from other departments in Field Linguistics, Lexicography and techniques for data management and documentation;
8. To promote and foster various domains of endangered languages to help minority/ endangered language communities in maintaining and preserving language vitality, including the development of orthographical resources like scripts, and primers.

Food Safety & Standards Law: A Study of Enforcement Experience in National Capital Region

The study seeks to undertake a detailed examination of the present regulatory architecture under the new converged system provided under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act 2006 and enforcement experience to determine whether the avowed objectives of a converged and integrated food safety and standards law have been attained and, if so, to what extent. This is has received grant from UGC and Dr. Sushila, Assistant Professor, NLUD is principal investigator of the project.

National Law University, Delhi and Law Commission of India

National Law University, Delhi is assisting Law Commission of India in various studies and research project

• Law Commission of India report on “Arrears and Backlog: Creating Additional Judicial (Wo) manpower.”

• Law Commission of India Report on Fatal Accidents Act, 1855

Impact Assessment of Reformation and Rehabilitation Program at Delhi Prison

Director General, Delhi Prison requested National Law University Delhi to conduct an empirical research on “Impact Assessment of Reformation and Rehabilitation Program at Delhi Prison”. The object of the study was to understand the efficiency of reformation and rehabilitation program of Delhi Prison and how it can be improved. As part of the survey, information from 8,100 prisoners who had been in prison for more than three months was collected. Prisoners who had resided in the prison for more than three months were deliberately chosen for reasons of statistical accuracy, since a prisoners who have spent more than three months in prison are more likely to objectively view and judge the standards of the prison reformation and rehabilitation program. The data was collected by interviewing prisoners and prison staff. The report has been submitted and many of the recommendations have been successfully implemented by Delhi Prison. The research work was undertaken by Dr. Bharti Yadav, Assistant Professor of Law, National Law University, Delhi.

Open Jails at Delhi Prison

Director General, Delhi Prison requested National Law University Delhi to conduct a study on establishing open jails at Delhi Prison. The object of the study was to see the viability of establishing Open Jails at Delhi Prison and to draft model Open Jail Rules for Delhi Prison. The report has been submitted to Delhi Prison. The Study was undertaken by Dr. Bharti Yadav, Assistant Professor of Law, National Law University Delhi.

Custodial Death in Delhi Prison

Director General, Delhi Prison requested National Law University Delhi to conduct a study on “Custodial Death in Delhi Prison”. There has been a substantial rise in custodial death at Delhi Prison over the past few years. The object of the study was to understand and analyze the reasons for rise in custodial deaths. This involved the study of all the custodial death casesin the year 2014, cctv footage, interviewing jail administrators, doctors, assisting staff and the prisoners. The report has been successfully submitted. The study was undertaken by Dr. Bharti Yadav, Assistant Professor of Law, National Law University, Delhi.

Prisoner’s Right to Liberty

Director General, Delhi Prison requested National Law University Delhi to conduct a study on effective implementation of section 436 Code of Criminal Procedure so that prisoners entitled for benefit provided under the section could be released and their right to liberty could be ensured. The study requires the identification of such prisoners through prison records and interviewing prisoners and finally producing their cases before the concerned court for their release. Many prisoners could be benefitted from the initiatives of National Law University Delhi in this regard. The project was undertaken by Dr. Bharti Yadav, assistant Professor of Law, National Law University Delhi.

Law Commission of India Report on Review of the Criminal Justice System

The Law Commission of India is undertaking an exercise to identify reforms in the criminal justice system. The Law Commission has constituted an expert committee of about 15 persons to undertake this exercise, and has invited Dr. Aparna Chandra and Dr. Mrinal Satish to be part of the expert committee, as well as the core-coordination committee for the exercise.

Law Commission of India Report on Process Re-engineering in Civil and Criminal Courts

The E-Committee of the Supreme Court of India has requested the Law Commission to prepare a report on changes required in High Court rules governing civil and criminal trial processes in the subordinate judiciary, particularly for introducing technology in the trial process in order to make the trial process more litigant friendly, effective and efficient. All High Courts have submitted reports suggesting changes in their various processes. The Law Commission has asked the Centre for Constitutional Law, Policy and Governance at NLU, Delhi to assist with compiling the reports and making additional suggestions for reform in the civil and criminal trial processes. Dr. Aparna Chandra and Dr. Mrinal Satish are working on this project.

The Prison Advocacy Project

The objective of the project was initially to document and identify undertrial prisoners who are eligible to be released under Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The project has now been broadened to include research on extended pre-trial and undertrial detention of prisoners in Tihar Prisons, New Delhi. Dr. Aparna Chandra, Assistant Professor of Law and Research Director, Centre for Constitutional Law, Policy and Governance; and Dr. Mrinal Satish, Associate Professor of Law and Executive Director, Centre for Constitutional Law, Policy and Governance are principal investigators of the project.

Tihar Plea Bargaining Project

NLU Delhi along with Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) has undertaken a project on plea bargaining in Tihar Jail. As a part of this project, the LSC will help accused through providing awareness regarding their rights and provide legal counsel. The LSC will train the students to aid the accused persons through the process of plea bargaining. The University will prepare a detailed report regarding the students, scope and feasibility of plea bargaining in India.

INSAAF

INSAAF is a student driven legal aid project initiated by National Law University, Delhi, as part of its commitment to social justice and furthering the rule of law. INSAAF is supervised by Dr. Anup Surendranath and is staffed by twenty students of the B.A., LL.B (Hons.) course. The aim is to create a framework within which students can be exposed to the working of various institutions delivering justice and those responsible for the care and protection of vulnerable groups and provide for legal aid intervention in these institutions. In pursuance of this, INSAAF has been involved in three projects since its inception in February, 2013 – a study of the Railways Magistrate's Court at the Old Delhi Railway Station; a study on the Child Welfare Committees and Observation Homes established under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, wherein students have conducted frequent visits to the seven Child Welfare Committees across Delhi; and on the issue of manual scavenging in India, wherein students visited the railway stations and Delhi Jal Board offices across Delhi in order to acquire a realistic understanding of the problems faced, and the students submitted a comprehensive Draft Rules to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment responding to the Draft Rules released by the Ministry, analyzing and suggesting changes to the Act and Draft Rules prepared by the Ministry.

Conflict Resolution for Rural India

In association with the National Council of Rural Institutes (NCRI), National Law University Delhi has undertaken a Pilot Project on Conflict Resolution for Rural India known as the Village Peacemaker Programme. The project aims at revitalizing the Gandhian approach and the efforts of historical peace makers, saints and negotiators from Indian history to empower the villagers and enable them to resolve conflicts through their own efforts. The first Rural Workshop was organized by the University in the village of Manak Lao in Rajasthan in November, 2010.

Reforming Delhi's Beggary Law

The criminalization of beggary is perhaps on e of the most draconian measures across different sttes in India. A powerful critique has developed calling for the de-criminalization of beggary along with the need to adopt a more inclusive and empowering approach to address beggary. Dr. AnupSurendranathis coordinating the project with a team of students under the guidance and supervision fo Dr. Usha Ramanathan (independent Law Reseacher) and Mr. Mohammad Tarique (Ashoka Fellow and Founder of 'Koshish'), in preparing a draft legislation for Delhi to replace the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 which currently operates in Delhi. The draft is currently being considered by the Ministry of Social Welfare. Government of NCT of Delhi.

Impact Analysis of the Legal Aid Services Provided By the Empanelled Legal Practitioners on the Legal Aid System in the City of Delhi

This project has received grant from UGC under UGC Research Award Project 2014. This is an empirical research which evaluates legal aid services provided by the empanelled legal practitioners. The study has following objectives:

1. To study the existing law relating to the legal aid system
2. To examine the functioning of the legal aid services provided by the empanelled legal practitioners.
3. To evaluate the effectiveness of the services provided by the empanelled legal practitioners.
4. To enhance the quality of services of empanelled legal practitioners provided under the scheme